Something to Talk About(31)

Rip frowned and stared down at her.

That wasn't exactly the kind of response she'd hoped for.

"Casey, I can't. I already have plans."

Feeling foolish, and wondering what had prompted her to offer in the first place, she replied hastily, "Of course, you do. I just thought...well, if you needed to talk to someone..." Feeling more stupid by the second, she glanced at her watch. "Well, can you believe how late it is? I have to run."

"Casey, be quiet." Rip reached for her, grabbing her arms.

Standing perfectly still, she stared into his eyes.

He bent, his lips descending on hers for a quick kiss. "Look, I have to go," he said. "I can't talk about it now, but I'll call you later."

It was only after he turned and left that she remembered she should be angry with him. Who was he seeing tonight?

Retrieving her purse from her drawer, she headed to her car. Casey's blood began a slow boil. She'd screwed up the courage to invite the man to dinner. After the way he'd kissed her in the conference room, the least he could have done was accept.





17





Casey didn't hear from Rip later, nor did he call to provide an explanation. Throughout the long night, Casey had suffered moments of deep concern, anger at him for breaking his word, and finally resignation that she'd exaggerated his interest. After all, how could she compare with Dodi-Bambi-Buffy-what-was-her-name?

The longer she thought about that, the more her blood boiled. Was he really so thickheaded he couldn't see that she was all the woman he needed? What did those girls have that she didn't? Well, basically, they possessed the same equipment. But at least I have two brain cells. I can make him smile. They couldn't hold his attention for longer than two seconds after sex.

Not only had he failed to follow through on the promises he'd made with his body on the conference room table, likewise he was leaving her hanging again the following morning.

He was late for work. "Must have been a helluva date," she muttered.

Brent shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's just you, beautiful." He began the countdown.



       
         
       
        

Suddenly, the sound booth door opened. Rip took his seat and donned his headphones before looking over at her. "Sorry," he mouthed.

Casey couldn't help the little leap her heart made. Calling herself every kind of fool, she leaned into the microphone. "Good morning, Austin! This is K-YAK Radio 102.5. Welcome to 'Something to Talk About' with Casey Cramer..."

"...and Rip O'Rourke." He winked at her and silently said, "Later."

Rolling her eyes at him, she decided to push her misgivings aside. "Let's talk about office romances."

Rip's eyes narrowed in wicked delight at her unscheduled choice of subject.

"Are you secretly pining for someone you work with, afraid of upsetting the delicate balance between an office flirtation and a full-blown affair-"

Rip jumped in with a waggle of his eyebrows, "Yeah, are you sneaking out for lunch for a little afternoon delight?"

Casey couldn't mistake the invitation. Smiling wryly, she admonished him, "Rip, that's crude!"

"What? How am I supposed to say it?"

"You're not," she said.

"So, tell me. Are you?"

She snorted. "I wouldn't tell if I was."

"Not that! Get your mind out of the gutter, Casey. Are you secretly pining for someone?"

Choking with laughter, she raised her hands in surrender. "I'm pleading the Fifth. Enough about me, let's hear whether any of you out there are treading the dangerous waters of an office dalliance."

"A dalliance? Come on, Casey. Let's join the 21st century. You have to know a better phrase to describe it than that."

"Well, what would you call it? And remember, no four-letter words."

"Darn!" He appeared to ponder it for a moment, then smiled, his eyes dancing with mischief. "All right, I've got it. How about, 'Coitus Officus'?"

A smile sneaked across her face, and she groaned loudly. "That was truly awful."

"Or how about-"

Laughing, she cut him off. "No, let's not."

"Coward. All right, audience, let's heat up those phone lines."

"Our first caller is on the line." She read the name on the monitor, "Hello, John Smith."

"Hi, Casey and Rip."

"John Smith, huh?" Rip said.

"Um...it's not my real name. My job frowns on fraternization between employees."

"So, tell us John, are you having a little fling with someone at the office?"

"Yeah. Um...Jane and I work in different divisions. She's in bookkeeping. I'm in sales. We've been dating for about four months." 

"You said your management disapproves of fraternization between employees," Casey said. "Would they actually fire you if they found out you were seeing each other? That sounds a little drastic."

"They might."

Rip interjected, "How's that fair? If you're a red-blooded man or woman, you can't help but get involved with the people around you. I mean, who do you have the most in common with? Who do you spend the most time with? The people you work with. It's only natural. Although, I have to agree you can't date someone in your chain of command. That crosses the line."

Casey pressed the next call button. "Let's go to our next caller. Hi, Glen."

"Hello, Casey. And wow. What's up with you, Rip? That's a lot of philosophizing. Is this a subject that hits close to home? Are you steppin' out with Casey?"

Rip shot a glance toward Casey, a smile tugging at his lips. "I'm workin' on it, buddy."

"Can't say as I blame you. She's hot. Saw that picture of you two at the club. She'd spice my tamale."

Casey wrinkled her nose and mouthed to Rip, "Spice my tamale?"

Rip grinned. "Believe me, Casey, you don't want to know."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Well, thanks for calling in, Glen. Let's move on to our next caller. Hi, Molly."

"Hi, Casey. So, is it true? Are you and Rip dating? You're so lucky. He's a hunk."

Casey shook her head ruefully. "He thinks so, too."

"Is he really as good looking as his picture?" Molly asked.

Rip raised that wicked eyebrow, waiting for her response.

"Well..." She hated to pander to his already over-inflated ego.

"Just wondered. You know how they cut heads off of famous people's photos and stick them on hot bodies."

Rip raised an arm and flexed a bicep. It rippled.

Casey's breath caught. Not so over-inflated-intensely accurate. "No, what you see is what you get."

Molly squealed. "He's so unreal. Is he as hard as he looks?"

Blushing, and shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Casey answered, "Uh...yes."

"You go, girl!"

"I haven't gone, yet," Casey admitted.

"Yet?" Rip jumped in. "You hear that, Molly? I'm wearing her down." The smile he aimed at Casey was full of devilment. "It's just a matter of time, darlin'. Maybe, you should be worrying about our corporate policy."

"Could we get just get back to the subject?" Casey asked desperately trying to regain control of the conversation.

"Plan on it."

"Earth to Rip." Casey tapped her microphone. "They're going to fire us both, Romeo."

"Yeah, but we can live on love." Rip tilted his head and gave her goofy grin.

Finally, she snickered. The conversation was just too silly. "All right, so we'll both starve to death."

He touched her hand and whispered into the mic, "But what a way to go. As long as I'm with you, babe."



After they'd signed off, Rip removed his headphones. Leaning back in his chair, arms folded over his chest, he basked in the warmth of Casey's smile. It amazed him, the difference a day could make. Her smile was enough to make the whole world right for him.

"Wow!" Brent's excited exclamation came loudly over the speakers. "You guys were sssssmokin', today."

Rip's smile broadened as Casey blushed a deep rose.



       
         
       
        

"Rip, should I be jealous?" Brent said. "You were talking about my girl." He nodded toward Casey. "Isn't that right?"

"That's right." Casey nodded, her face straight. "Brent and I are a thing."

"Who else am I gonna shop with?" Brent said.

Brent's falsetto grated on every last one of Rip's nerves, and he gave an exaggerated shudder. "Brent, you may be my friend, but there some things I don't have a sense of humor about. And shopping's one of them."

Casey's laughter drew his attention back to her. She was convulsed, arms wrapped around her middle. Rip gave Brent a thumbs-up. He guessed he could forgive the little guy-just this once, anyway.

Brent batted his eyelashes, and Casey gasped, laughing helplessly. When she looked over at Rip, their gazes met, and her laughter died in an instant. Her mouth was pressed in a firm, thin line as she gathered her notes to depart.

Puzzled by her sudden change of mood, Rip followed Casey out the door of the studio and down the hallway to their desks. Casey's heels clicked briskly against the linoleum.